Broken Crayons Still Color
by Bizi-Myers
Summary: Kara was sure she'd seen it all in the four years that she'd taught at Detroit Elementary, all until the day Alice Williams arrived to class with a fresh bruise on her face. Haunted by the loss of a previous beloved student, Kara determines to not let the same fate befall Alice, no matter what else. It's her job after all.


Had her alarm clock not woken her up, Kara would've no doubt been awakened by the cracks of bright sunlight coming in through the window. They were small cracks, thanks to the lace curtains which she'd drawn the night before, but just large enough to cast warm rays on her face as she rolled over on her side.

Yawning, she outstretched a hand to silence the obnoxious beeping of her alarm. Any other day she would've gladly let it time out and start beeping five minutes later, just so she could have a few extra precious minutes of sleep. But any other day in her vocabulary would be a summer day, and unfortunately for her, it was no longer a summer day.

The date was August 28th. The first day of school.

This was the precise reason why she had rolled over to turn her alarm off, and why she couldn't allow herself to pull the covers back over her head and go to sleep until 9:30. It was 6:00 now, which gave her just enough time to prepare herself for the long day ahead. Not only that, but enough time to readjust herself to the daily routine she'd not followed since May of that year.

It was funny how routines could slip from your head if you didn't practice them enough. She'd told herself she would keep up with them during the summer, but those plans had gone awry the minute she'd realized just how badly her body craved those extra hours of sleep. It also made her realize just how much she'd taken sleep for granted before her days of becoming a teacher, oh no, those days were long gone.

Now her days consisted of rising early, preparing and devouring a quick breakfast after an equally as quick shower, and getting to the school in enough time to prepare the classroom before the kids came stampeding in. But oddly enough, even as she longed for the idea of getting more sleep, she couldn't deny the excitement she felt at the idea of getting to set foot back in her own classroom again.

It'd been three months too long, she'd been ready to go back after the semester had ended. She was ready to go back now...or wasn't, really. She still had to get out of bed first, which wouldn't be too hard to do if she willed herself, but was being made even harder this morning by the tubby orange cat asleep on her feet.

She didn't know when in the night Calla had wandered into her room, as she hadn't been awake enough to see the time. She'd only figured the cat had arrived when she felt a great weight drop onto the bed. Sometime after she'd fallen back asleep, Calla had made her way to her feet, and by the looks of it, wasn't ready to get up anytime soon.

Well, she knew who to blame should she be late today.

Carefully, Kara attempted to slide her feet out from underneath the feline's soft, sleeping body, and was gratefully only met with an offended hum from the animal as she briefly glanced over at her owner, only to lay her head back down a minute later and fall back into a peaceful slumber.

Kara softly chuckled and got out of the bed, quick to give the little cat a scritch behind the ears as she headed across the room to her closet. She'd made it a point to give all her clothes a good dry cleaning and ironing the night before, something she'd made a habit out of after showing up in a wrinkly blouse and skirt on her official first day of working at Detroit Elementary.

It hadn't been so bad at first, as no one had really laughed or noticed. It wasn't until lunchtime when she'd been invited to sit with some of teachers did some of them take notice, and jokingly asked if she'd slept in her clothes. This had made Kara's cheeks turn red, and she'd tried in vain to smooth the wrinkles down until to her surprise, the teacher who'd made the comment ended up reaching her hand over to stop her.

"Hey, no, I get it. First day is always a rough one, even for teachers." she'd said, and very apologetically. "Don't take it personally, I'm this way with everyone. I like to think it's my way of showing love."

So that hadn't ended as badly as she'd thought it might. Even so, she'd made up her mind to be more organized from that point onwards, though she couldn't really say that stopped any of that teacher's quips or jokes towards everyone. It seemed like she hadn't been kidding when she said she treated everyone that way, something Kara had quickly learned during her first year of teaching there.

It was one of the things that had made her want to stay, really. Not the quips, but the welcoming environment in general. She didn't know where else she'd be if it weren't for everyone at the school, they were practically a second family to her. If they made teasing comments about the wrinkles in her clothes, she knew better than to wilt over them.

Opening the closet doors, she selected a soft white cardigan, alongside a lovely tan skirt and matching periwinkle blouse, which she then draped across her arm as she headed out of her room and down the hall to her bathroom. She showered, and after towelling herself off, had just enough time to quickly blow-dry her hair before brushing it into place and getting dressed.

Before leaving the bathroom, however, she did a once-over of herself in the mirror to ensure there were no signs of wrinkles or lint on her clothes. Once she'd made sure, she nodded towards her reflection, satisfied, and left the bathroom.

When she went back to her room to retrieve her shoes, Calla had woken up and was stretching on the bed, letting out a loud yawn. Upon noticing Kara, she jumped down and went about purring and rubbing herself against her legs, making the task of putting her shoes on very difficult. Laughing, Kara grabbed onto her desk chair in order to prevent herself from falling over, and used one free hand to rub the cat's back.

"I know, I know. Breakfast is coming, I promise." she reassured the little cat, who in-return purred even louder and disappeared out into the hall. Kara shook her head and finished putting her shoes on, then picked up her patchwork book bag which was hanging from said-chair she'd been using to avoid falling over on Calla. She checked through it to ensure all her schoolbooks and notebooks were inside, even if she'd made double sure before going to bed the previous night. Even so, it didn't hurt to make sure. The last thing she wanted was to start a lesson and realize she'd left a book at home.

Not that that had ever happened...which, it had, but to be fair, that hadn't been her fault. In her defense, she'd been in a rush that day thanks to accidentally oversleeping, something else that prompted her into setting the routine of waking up to the alarm clock. She used to let sunlight be the thing that served as her alarm, but after that one incident of a rainy day, the clock had been far more reliable.

Calla was waiting patiently by her food bowl by the time Kara got to the kitchen. She meowed softly, swishing her long tail around while her owner retrieved the bag of cat food from where it was usually placed on the kitchen counter, clipped shut with a clothespin so one nosy kitty wouldn't be able to dig into it for seconds later in the day. After shaking a reasonable portion into the little bowl, Kara went about searching for her own breakfast while Calla began to nibble away at her food, letting out little satisfied squeaks in-between crunches.

Retrieving a half-empty bag of blueberry bagels from atop the fridge, Kara popped one half into the toaster and while she waited for it to cook, went to turning on the little television that set atop the kitchen counter. A news report played in the background as she went about pouring herself a cup of orange juice.

"_-we're reporting to you live from Henry Ford Hospital where just last week, John Phillips was taken after sustaining massive gunshot wounds at the hands of one of his former employees-"_

She put the carton back into the fridge, taking a quick sip from her glass before setting it down and reaching back into the fridge to grab a small container of cream cheese. Calla had finished eating and was now drinking from her water bowl, eyes squinted in contentment,

"_-sadly we regret to inform you that Mr. Phillips just passed this morning, after a week-long coma spent in critical condition. His wife Caroline wants to thank the public for their endless support, but is unable to otherwise make an official public statement at this time."_

Kara looked back to the television as she shut the fridge, mouth pressed into a tight line. Well, that certainly wasn't news you wanted to hear first thing in the morning, especially when it concerned the Phillips family. Their daughter, Emma had been one of her favorite students, naturally she'd been rattled when she'd turned the television on last Sunday night only to find a live broadcast of the family's situation instead of the expected late night news.

It'd been a sickening experience, that was for sure. From what she could recall, a man under Mr. Phillips' employment had become angered by...something, the media hadn't exactly said what, but she could only figure he'd been fired or something, that's usually how these things went. And poor Emma had been taken as a hostage, being dangled over the edge of such a tall building like she was nothing.

And then, oh, when nobody had thought it could get worse, that's when he'd jumped.

The news station had immediately cut away after that, but Kara knew what had happened. She'd just hoped it wasn't true, only to have her worst fears confirmed when a later report confirmed both Emma and her abductor dead from the fall. And now, just a week later, Mr. Phillips was dead too, leaving his wife alone with nothing but two empty chairs at the dinner table.

Kara knew she couldn't grieve about having one empty chair in her classroom, when she knew that could easily be filled by a new student. There was nothing that could replace what Mrs. Phillips had lost, and in such a short amount of time too.

Her stomach churned at this thought, and she immediately turned off the television. Best not to reflect on such things for now, even if they were present issues...it was the first day of school. As difficult as it may be after being reminded of such a thing, she had to keep in good spirits.

It was part of her job in being a teacher, after all.

When she'd finished her breakfast, she made sure to empty out Calla's litter box before leaving and retrieved her books and patchwork bag from where she'd sat them on the counter. Giving the little cat one more headscritch, she headed out the door and into the warm summer morning outside.

She might as well enjoy it while she could, August wasn't going to last much longer and it'd be getting colder soon. It was pleasant enough to not even need her cardigan, but she knew how cold those classrooms could get. She'd be better off keeping this thing on until she got home.

Struggling to keep her bag straps from sliding down her arm, Kara dug her hand around through several crumpled papers and books before finally finding her car keys, and took them out. She pressed the button to unlock as she approached her beat-up old car, which had definitely seen better days on the inside. Not even the fresh paint job she'd gotten done yesterday was enough to hide the fact that this car was as good as dead.

She just hoped that that tune-up would be enough to get her to the school on time, and she wouldn't have to worry about breaking down in the middle of the road. The last time that had happened, it was raining up a storm and she'd had to hitch a ride with an old man on a motorbike. That had been...less than pleasant, to say the least, and something she didn't care to repeat.

Opening the back door, she tossed her bags and books inside, then slipped into the front seat, where she went about inserting the keys into the ignition. She turned them. Nothing. She repressed a sigh, holding her breath as she tried once more. Still nothing, except for the sounds of a struggle.

With a huff, she got out of the car and went around front to stare down at the car hood. Damnit, she didn't know cars, what was she supposed to do? That tune-up had clearly done squat, and she didn't have time to take it to the garage...or maybe, she was simply being impatient, and the car just needed a chance to wake up first.

She went back and gave the key a couple more twists, but it was all for naught. Every attempt sounded worse than the last and it was starting to look like she'd have to flag down another man on a motorbike again. Or, she thought she'd have to, because on her fifth attempt, the engine finally roared to life. She gasped out of delight and shut the car door, buckling herself in and preparing to back out of the driveway.

She barely it made it past her mailbox before the engine died on her.

"What? Oh no no no, come on, please-" Kara fervently gave the keys several twists, which alluded to nothing, not even a groan or mutter this time. "No, ugh, come on! Work you piece of crap!"

She hit the dashboard, hissing in pain as she withdrew her hand. Why she'd thought that would help, she didn't know, but it hadn't even succeeded in making her feel better. Sighing, she dropped her head back against her head, running her hands over eyes. What a great way to start out the day, first she had to be reminded that she'd recently lost one of her students and now her car had made matters worse by deciding to make her late.

Well, no, maybe she didn't have to be late. She did live quite close to a bus stop, perhaps if she were quick enough, she could try and catch the bus. True, riding the public bus made her nervous and brought a lot of interesting characters with it, it was better than being a no-show and leaving her class without a teacher.

That'd be pretty bad to do on the first day. Middle of the semester, maybe, but definitely not on the first day.

Deciding she really had no other choice, Kara unbuckled her seatbelt and climbed out of the car, heading to the back to retrieve her books. She'd just begun to do so when she was alerted to the sound of another car unlocking, and looked around to see a familiar face exiting the house adjacent to hers. He noticed her almost immediately and smiled, waving as he walked over to the white picket fence separating them.

"Kara! Good morning!" She couldn't help but smile and wave back to him, Luther was a friendly, gentle soul to nearly every person he met and could succeed on making you grin, on even your worst days. "You headed to work already?"

"Yes, I am! Well, I mean, that was the plan until old faithful over there decided to quit on me." Kara shrugged her bag back onto her shoulder, gesturing a nod towards her car. "And it sucks, y'know, I just had it tuned up yesterday on top of that. It'd just be my luck that I can't afford a good mechanic, huh?"

"I'm sure that wouldn't be a problem if you'd just take me up on my offer." Luther joked, leaning against the fence best he could without knocking it over, provided that he was almost half the size it was. "I keep saying to just bring it over to my house, I'll gladly take a look at it for you."

"Aw, Luther, that's sweet, but let's be honest, you know about as much about cars as I do." Kara said, crossing her arms with a small laugh. "No, I'll um-I'll just take my chances with the mechanic again. Worse comes to worst, I might have to go back to taking the bus from now on…"

Her eyes drifted off towards the bus stop nearby, though she knew Luther must've sensed the hesitance in her tone as she looked away. She had a bad habit of making her emotions too obvious-ala not being the most discreet person in the world. It was something that had gotten her in trouble more than once.

"You're going to take it today then?"

"It's not like I've got any other choice." Kara shook her head as she looked back to him. "Unless you actually think you've got the time to look at my engine, then be my guest."

"Oh no, I wasn't thinking of anything like that." Luther quickly assured her, sliding a hand back from the fence as he stood back up. "You said it yourself, I don't know quite enough and I don't have time to learn it. I was thinking more along the lines of just giving you a ride myself, in my car."

"I uh-in yours? Oh, Luther, I couldn't."

"Well, why not? You wouldn't be putting me out of my way." That was a fair point, Kara couldn't argue with that. She could, say they didn't both work at the same school. But as it was, he did, and riding with him sounded a lot more pleasant than having to sit next to some weird stranger on the bus she didn't know. Even at twenty-five years of age, such a thought still succeeded in making her nervous.

"I…" She uncrossed her arms, fidgeting with the strap of her bag as it was still determined to fall from her shoulder. "Okay, sure. I'd appreciate that a lot, actually. Thank you. Just let me get the rest of my books first."

"Will do. I'll get the car started, you just come over when you're ready." Luther nodded, smiling warmly, then headed back over into his own yard, to his car, while Kara went back to get her books from the back seat, closing and locking the car doors before heading over to join him.

She had to say, even if she had known Luther for nigh on to three years now, it still felt extremely awkward to be riding in his car. She never had before, come to think of it, but that was probably why….not him, the awkwardness. The silence, as both of them tried to figure out what a good conversation topic would be to pass the time.

Kara didn't understand how that worked. She had no problem talking to people, that was, if the people she were around were friendly enough. And it wasn't that Luther lacked such a quality, but the fact that he was the exact same. Not completely shy, but not completely good at starting conversations either beyond saying hello.

Nibbling at her lower lip, Kara clasped her hands around her bag, before turning to look out the window where she saw several parked buses picking up neighborhood children and the like, as their parents sent them off with their lunchboxes and good luck kisses.

"Looks like we're not the only ones getting a headstart." she remarked, as Luther brought the car around one of the buses. He stopped as they came up to a red light, looking back at the buses himself with a small chuckle.

"Looks like it, yeah." he agreed. "I doubt it's by their own choice, though. I wouldn't be surprised if most of them ended up falling asleep on the bus."

The light turned green and he pulled forward onto the main road. There was a pause before he spoke again, and in this instance, it was his turn to turn a small glance towards Kara before going back to his driving.

"Did you see the news this morning?" he asked, quietly and almost...hesitantly, as if he didn't want to bring it up. Kara's nibbling on her lip turned to a bite, and she slowly nodded.

"Yeah...wish I hadn't though, to be honest." she admitted, thumbing the blue ribbon trim at the top of her bag. "I almost half-convinced myself the whole thing was a bad dream until this morning...god, I hope that doesn't sound like I'm being dismissive or anything."

A piece of the ribbon was loose, and she tugged at it. Luther didn't say anything, so she continued.

"I mean, it's surreal, you know?" The ribbon gave way from it's stitching a bit, and she sighed. "You never think about these things happening to people you know, Emma was one of my best students. It just feels odd that I won't be seeing her anymore, though I can't imagine how worse it must be for her poor mother…"

The conversation went back to dead air after that, but Kara hadn't really expected it to continue. It wasn't the most cheery topic to be discussing with your coworker, but she appreciated that at least one of them had the nerve to bring it up. No one liked to be that guy who brought up the elephant in the room, that was for sure.

They came to another red light, stopping at a school crossing as a line of children crossed the street, all chattering and bouncing along excitedly with one another. Kara released the blue ribbon and lay her head back against the headrest, Luther tapping at the steering wheel. He surprised her when he spoke again, especially since she'd figured the conversation had been over.

"I was thinking of speaking to Principal Kamski...of maybe holding a candlelight vigil at the school. You know, with the students." Kara lifted her head from the headrest at this, turning to look at him. "I know a lot of them knew Emma pretty well, it's probably just as hard for them to process as us. I figured a vigil might help them...deal with their grief, I guess…"

The light turned green and he slowly advanced, careful to make sure any lingering kids had made it across. He turned the car towards the school parking lot.

"But, I don't know, maybe that's a bad idea…"

"It's not."

He stopped at the entrance, looking at Kara as she smiled over at him, lips pressed together.

"At least, I don't think so. I think it's a very thoughtful idea."

He returned her smile, with one of complete and genuine gratitude.

"Thank you, Kara."

Her heart fluttered slightly at this, and she realized this was the longest she'd ever maintained a steady eye contact with him before. She grabbed onto her bag with a startled grip and ducked her head back down, clearing out the lump she hadn't realized was in her throat until now.

"I...um, you're welcome…"

* * *

Luther walked up to the building with her after he'd parked, though they soon parted ways after entering. Before departing, however, he told her he'd be willing to give her a ride home that afternoon should she need it, which she more than likely would be given that she had no other means of getting back less someone else offered her.

He headed to the locker room shortly after that, Kara waving goodbye to him as he went. She had to admit, after their conversation in the car, she was starting to feel a little bit better about how today was going to go. The news report had left her thinking otherwise, but she couldn't falter. She had to keep a stiff upper lip, for her students' sake. And if Principal Kamski was alright with holding a vigil for Emma, then that would surely give them all the proper chance to grieve together.

She'd promised Luther she'd back him up on the idea if he needed her to. Principal Kamski wasn't exactly a hard man to convince or impress, but he could be a bit...what was the word...cocksure? Puffed up? Yes, he could definitely be those things and more sometimes, it was like the man had some kind of God Complex from being in charge.

Of course, Kara never liked to think or say bad things about people behind their backs. She knew that the principal was a good man at heart, he just had a whole other exterior as did everyone else in the world. She'd once told herself there had to be good in everyone, but years of maturing and experience had informed her otherwise.

And Gavin Reed was a good reminder of that fact.

He hadn't been one of the first people she'd wanted to see today, but as she started to head down the hall after saying goodbye to Luther, she'd stumbled upon him standing in the hallway, leaning against one of the sticker-cladden lockers with his arms crossed. She slowed her pace, not in a hurry to cross paths with the cocky resource officer this early in the morning.

Again, she never liked to speak ill things of other people, her mother had told her it was rude. But when someone like Gavin Reed worked at the same school you did, it was kind of hard not to. She could remember him very well from the first day she'd started working here-not that they'd spoken face to face right away, as he'd been too preoccupied in yelling at some kids who'd innocently been playing near the lion statue in front of the school building.

It'd been a ridiculous sight, you would've thought those kids were beating that statue with a bunch of baseball bats with the way he'd been acting. Kara had known it wasn't her place to step in, but she hadn't been able to stop herself; those poor children had gone so pale she was afraid they were about to faint.

Naturally this had landed her on Gavin's bad side, which she soon came to learn nearly everyone at the school was on. Unfortunately, it wasn't like any of them could go complain to Principal Kamski about him. He was the whole reason Gavin was working there in the first place, and probably the only reason why he still had this job.

Perks of your family being your employers, she supposed. Oh well, as long as she could just get by without one altercation today, then she wouldn't have to worry about any more of them. Today, it looked like the only person who'd be suffering a Gavin Reed altercation was the young man who'd just ran up to talk to him. He was dressed in a uniform similar to Gavin's, though Kara couldn't say she recognized him at all.

"Sorry I'm late, I had to-" he begun to say, but was-as Kara had expected him to be-cut off by Gavin, who sat up from the locker and removed the cigarette she hadn't realized he was smoking. Hadn't they agreed to this place being a non-smoker's ground or did he just care that little?

It was probably the latter, knowing him.

"Fifteen minutes. You were supposed to be here fifteen minutes ago, Anderson." he scolded, flicking the cigarette butt to the ground. "Didn't they teach you to be on time at the police academy, or were you late to those lessons too?"

"I-Officer Reed, I said I was sorry-" The young man, Anderson, started to say, as he spared a concerned glance down to the cigarette butt Gavin was now stomping out. "If you'd let me explain, I could-"

"Spare me your bullshit excuses, kid. This is your first day, you only get one of those." Kara stopped walking as she neared them, wide-eyed from Gavin's sudden use of vulgarity. This warned her not to go any further, and she knew better than to go against that warning.

"Now let me make one thing very fucking clear, okay?" He thrust out his chin, sneering at the younger man who by now had very wisely taken a step back from him. "You're on my time now, so you do as I tell you. I don't give a damn what your rank was before, because until you go back to the DPD, I'm in charge. Got it?"

"I...got it. Yes, sir." Anderson very solemnly nodded, arms crossed behind his back.

"And another thing, don't think you're hot shit because of your name. You aren't getting any respect from me unless you earn it."

"Understood, sir."

Christ, Gavin needed to lay off this poor guy. He looked just as every shade of pale as those kids playing at the statue had, Kara nearly wanted to go over and pull him aside. If this really was his first day, he certainly didn't need to be dealing with the likes of Gavin Reed right now. But if from what she was gathering from their conversation was true, then it was looking like he had no choice.

It was almost a mercy when several kids ran by the two, yelling and screaming after each other in an apparent race to claim whatever Pokemon had appeared on their phone screen. This gave Gavin the chance to head after them, spewing out his usual "no running in the halls" lecture to them. At that moment, Kara could see the color coming back onto Anderson's face as he left, and decided now would be the best time to approach him before Gavin came back.

"I wouldn't take it personally if I were you." He startled as she approached him, hands falling from where they'd been folded behind his back before. "He's like that with almost everyone around here."

"Everyone? Christ…" Anderson cracked a small chuckle, slipping his hands into his pockets. "I hope that doesn't mean the kids too…"

"Oh, especially the kids." Kara's point was further proven by the sound of a phone snapping from down the hall, and the distressed cry of one of the kids. "Trust me, give it a few weeks, and you'll be used to it."

"Unfortunately I'll have to get used to it if I'm going to be working with him." Sighing, Anderson rubbed his eyes and shook his head. "Although, I can't say I've had much worse in charge of me back at the DPD. This isn't anything new to me-well, except for the change in scenery of course."

"I believe it. I bet these halls are a far cry from what you're used to, huh?" Kara laughed softly, quickly grabbing onto the bag strap sliding from her shoulder. "Talk about a change of pace, though, I'm sure it's going to take a lot of getting used to."

"Hm, I don't think it'll be that much of a problem. I've always been pretty good at adapting if I do say so myself." Anderson smiled, moving his hands from his pockets, one of which he extended to Kara. "Oh, I'm Connor by the way. Connor Anderson, sergeant-turned-resource-officer."

"Kara Hill, fourth-grade English teacher." Kara accepted his hand, shaking it warmly. "And since Gavin didn't, let me be the first to welcome you to Detroit Elementary. I promise we're not all like him, that aside we're all pretty much one big happy family here. You'll fit in in no time."

"I'd certainly hope so." Connor released her hand, which she noted had been somewhat shaking. No doubt from his incident with Gavin. "I wouldn't be wanting to get on anyone else's bad side around here, after all."

"Well, I don't think the rest of us bite as much, so that shouldn't be a problem." Kara reassured him, a group of chattering kids passing them by. "I'd still be careful around North though, say the wrong thing and it probably won't end well for you."

"North?"

"Yeah, she's the girls' P.E. teacher." And the very same teacher who had mildly teased Kara bout her wrinkled clothes. How they'd ended up becoming friends was a long story. "She's got a good heart but goodness, if she isn't rough. She doesn't mean a lot of what she says though, it's all in good fun."

"Ah, noted. I'll remember to be cautious should I ever run into her." chuckled Connor, the sounds of Gavin's lecture surprisingly still going on behind them. "Anyone else I should be warned about?"

"Not particularly, no. But if you want a good chance to get to know everyone better, we usually hold potlucks after the first week of school ends-y'know, to celebrate surviving it and all." Kara cast a quick glance to the time to ensure she wasn't going to be late to set up her classroom, then glanced back to Connor with a smile. "You're welcome to come, but only if you want to. It isn't a requirement, it's just something we like to do."

"Oh, that sounds-"

"Anderson!" Oh, well. That was a good conversation while it lasted. "Get your ass over here, you can flirt with the teachers later!"

"I'm not-" Connor began to shout back, but stopped. He inhaled sharply, shaking his head for a second time.

"Anyways, yes, as I was about to say, that sounds wonderful." he said. "I'll give it some thought-what day did you say it was on?"

"At the end of week, on Saturday. We haven't decided where, though."

"Gotcha. Well…" Connor tensed as Gavin shouted for him again, looking as if he were ready to shake his head a third time. "I'd love to discuss it with you some more, Ms. Hill, but I'm afraid duty calls."

"Of course, I understand. " Kara said, noting that she now only had a total of twenty minutes to get her classroom ready before the kids were done with PE. "Just come by our lunch table later on if you want, maybe we can discuss the potluck some more."

"I'll do that-if I can. No doubt Officer Reed is going to be keeping me on my toes for the entire day." Connor laughed, turning to rejoin Gavin at the end of the hall. "You have a nice day now, Ms. Hill, it was certainly nice to meet you."

"Likewise!" Kara nodded, as Connor walked away. When he and Gavin had left, she resumed her own walk down the hall, turning a corner to where her classroom awaited. She passed several more children running by, and various billboards with colorful paper decorations leftover from the last semester. She soon came to the end of the hallway, happening upon a door that was almost covered in head to toe with scraps of paper and drawings that her former students had left her.

It was this sight that reminded of her why she took this job in the first place. The poems, the thank you letters, and the doodles from students both new and old alike, were a welcome sight for her each morning that she came here. Even the ones dated from her first semester were still here, as she didn't have the heart to take them down. She probably never would, even if it meant the entire wall becoming covered in papers.

She treasured them. They were memories to her, ones that she wanted to keep forever.

Digging through her bag, she pulled out her classroom keys, inserting them into the lock. Before she turned it, she noticed one very familiar poem pinned to the door's window. She knew it was Emma's before she'd even spotted the girl's name at the top of the paper, she knew that girl's handwriting all too well. She remembered this poem too, Emma had been so excited to show it to her.

"_The sun is blue_

_The clouds are white_

_And the sun is oh so bright_

_Daniel's here and he's my friend_

_He'll be with me until the very end_

_We laugh and we sing, we play and we run_

_Who knew life could be this much fun?"_

Her hand fell from the paper, having been tracing the sloppily-written words. A sense of sadness threatened to creep onto her face, but she held it back. Stiff-upper lip, first day of class. She had to have a strong face today, that was all that mattered.

Looking away from the poem, she put the keys back into the lock and twisted the classroom door open, stepping inside.


End file.
